Improvement in car-couplings



" a. Hqmwmea E. s. PERRYQ Qmprovement En Car Coupling.

NG: M/QJN. Patemedwov. 7,1871.; y

UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

ROBERT H. DOWLING, OF FENTON, MICHIGAN, AND ELKANAH S. PERRY, OF

, CLAY LICK, OHIO.

IMPROVEMENT IN CAR-COUPLINGS.

Specication forming part of Letters Patent No. 120,726, dated November'7, 1871.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, ROBERT H. DowLING, of Fenton, in the county ofGenesee and State of Michigan, and ELKANAH S. PERRY, of Clay Lick, inthe county of Licking and State of Ohio, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Car-Couplings; and we do declare that the following is atrue and accurate description thereof, reference being had to theaccompanying drawing and to the letters of reference marked thereon, andbeing a part of this specication, in which- Figure l is a perspectiveView of a pair of draw bars fitted with our improvement, uncoupled; andFig. 2 is a vertical section of the same coupled.

Like letters refer to like parts in each ligure.

s rIhe nature of this invention relates Ato the construction of acoupling device to be attached to the draw-bars of railway-cars, and soarranged that the coupling-hook of the one draw-bar will be caused toengage with the other draw-bar when the cars come together; and itconsists in the peculiar construction and arrangement of the draw-barsand couplinghook, as more fully hereinafter set forth.

In the drawing, A represents the body of our draw-bar, which may be of"wrought or cast metal, of any approved form, and attached to the frameof the car with tension and compression springs in the usual manner, itshead -or buffer only differing from those in common use. The projectingend or head A we raise above the general plane, and therein form acavity or recess, B. C is a hook, bifurcated as shown, its bifurcationsC straddling the head of the draw-bar, to which they are pivotedbyastout bar, a, passing trans versely through the recess formed therein.The extremities of the bifurcations are extended beyond the pivot, andso curved that when one of the hooks is thrown up and back in theposition shown by the left-hand one in Fig. 1 its feet or extremitieswill project beyond the head of the draw-bar. If the hook on anotherdraw-head be thrown down when the cars come together they willautomatically couple themselves, as the extremities of the standinghooks bifurcations, coming in contact with those of the other hook, willthrow the hook end forward beyond the perpendicular, when it Will fallof its own weight on the bara of the other draw-head, and thus couplethe cars together. To hold the pendant hook steady while thebifurcations of the other hook are pressing upon it, a stop, b, may beplaced on the under side of the draw-head, as shown, al-

though not strictly necessary to the successfu1- working of ourimprovement. The weight of the hook end being considerably in excess ofthat at the other side of the pivot, certainty in coupling is insured,while its gravity keeps it in place when coupled. The variations in theheight of car floors from the rails offer no impediment to the use ofthis coupling, while the protection it affords to life and limb willreadily be conceded.

What we claim as our invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is

The hereinbefore-described car-coupling, consisting of the draws-bars A,each provided with a head, A', containing a recess, B, and thebifurcated hooked bar C, pivoted to or upon the rod a, when each of saidparts are constructed and combined in the manner and for the purposespecified.

ROBERT H. DOWLIN G. ELKANAH S. PERRY.

PERRY WM. E. MITCHELL,

J CHN W. MITCHELL. (12,2)

